With Gladness and Singleness of Heart

In many churches communion is celebrated very infrequently, maybe once a year, quarterly, or perhaps monthly. But in the early church, “breaking bread” as the Lord’s Supper was often called, is what the people of God did when they gathered together. And the apostles instructed that they gather together at least weekly on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day (1 Cor. 16:2). In fact in the early chapters of Acts we are told that Christians were gathering together and celebrating the Lord’s Supper daily (Acts 2:46). When many churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they do it like a funeral. All they can think about is the cross, the death of Jesus, and all of their sins. And the pastors often times spend time poking them in the eye before inviting them to the table warning them that if they are really bad and have sinned, they might want to reconsider. Make really, really, really sure, they say, you are discerning the Lord’s body otherwise you might eat and drink judgment on yourselves and remember the Corinthians who died! Soon everyone in the congregation is searching frantically through their memories and consciences, wondering if they are worthy, wondering if they should abstain, wondering if they will drink condemnation on themselves if they partake. If the Lord’s Supper is so dangerous and sad and morbid, the less we partake the better. But this is to get the whole thing upside down and backwards. The early Christians celebrated this meal often and they did it with “gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46). How could they do that? Didn’t they know they were sinners? Didn’t they know that Jesus comes in judgment at this table? Yes, we are sinners, and yes, it is certainly true that Jesus is the Lord of this table and he comes as judge in our midst while we eat and drink. But this is the good news of the gospel: this table is for sinners, it’s for losers, for failures, for everyone who knows they deserve the guilty verdict. This table is for those who recognize that the “righteous ones” are those who cling to Jesus in faith. This is what justification by faith is all about. It means believing that because of Jesus, God has put your name at this table and come with gladness and singleness of heart. So come and believe.